Signs of Life in the Valley of Death

In 2013, I packed my life into a moving truck and drove it across the United States to settle in a quirky corner of the P­acific Northwest. On my drive out, I thought a lot about the thousands of people who had migrated west before me - especially the original frontier settlers. I wondered what might have led them to leave everything behind and set out into the unknown; of the trials they may have encountered along the way and if there was a common thread running through and driving us all.

When I encountered the stark, contrasted beauty of Death Valley, I couldn't help but imagine the terror of reaching such a desolate place, with its miles of scorched earth stretching out before you, and not knowing where you would next find water or a comforting sign of life.

There is a very otherworldly quality to that place and I was inspired to express this with a surreal use of color.

Flora

"The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitudes towards them." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Paint By Camera

“A kind of light spread out from her. And everything changed color. And the world opened out. And a day was good to awaken to. And there were no limits to anything. And the people of the world were good and handsome. And I was not afraid any more.” ― John Steinbeck

Landscapes are for Lovers

"The scenery, when it is truly seen, reacts on the life of the seer. How to live. How to get the most of life.... How to extract its honey from the flower of the world." - Henry David Thoreau

Inverted World

"Do you know the story of the land of Ta, where the sun burned blue, turned human skin milky white? The sun-starved of the land were as dark as night. " - Sholeh Wolpe

Dualis

"What I found there was a magical place, left there to be completely affected by time, yet somehow outside of temporal constraints as well." - Vanessa Prestage